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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30146970">something so true happened</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwasanticlimactic/pseuds/thatwasanticlimactic'>thatwasanticlimactic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>what i did for love (zukka week 2021) [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Autistic Zuko (Avatar), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Competent Suki (Avatar), Fluff, Free day, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Geese, Gen, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mutual Pining, Sokka (Avatar) Has ADHD, Sokka (Avatar) Has Tourette's, Zukka Week 2021, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, azula and jet are tired of hearing zuko pine, give sokka a fidget spinner 2k21, literally no angst, oblivious dorks, ra Suki because i said so, rated t for mention of blood and because i'm paranoid, sokka just scrapes his elbows, zuko talks to animals</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:42:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,435</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30146970</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwasanticlimactic/pseuds/thatwasanticlimactic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“A-are you the kid who slapped that goose a couple days ago?”</p><p>Sokka froze. That voice… he recognized that voice.</p><p>Ever so slowly, Sokka turned around, carefully setting his laptop on his desk and meeting the gaze of hoodie kid. Near golden eyes, black hair in a wolf cut… Spirits, it was the gorgeous kid he ran into two days prior. His throat felt parched and dry because he was just as pretty now as he was then, except this time, Sokka was sitting right next to him.</p><p>The kid was staring at him, his eyebrows scrunched and making a face that kind of resembled sucking on a lemon that wasn’t terribly sour, just weird-tasting.</p><p>“Heh heh,” Sokka chuckled, gulping nervously, his hands twisting in his lap. “I-um, yes. Y-you, uhm you remember that?”</p><p>[or: zukka meet cute]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>what i did for love (zukka week 2021) [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2214033</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>261</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>something so true happened</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>written for day seven (free day) of zukka week!</p><p>this is kind of a sequel to the yueki oneshot i wrote <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29132697">look what happened to me</a> ! you don't have to read that one first, but it's in the same universe haha</p><p>this is dedicated to my internet friend Lauren's grandmother who once slapped a goose for following her</p><p>i also need to thank my lovely friend <a href="https://zukkaclawthorne.tumblr.com/">Grace</a> for having the text conversation with me because yes the first set of texts between Sokka and Suki was legit (not the last two texts tho). Yes, I was Sokka and <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/GallifreyanFairytale">Grace</a> was Suki. good times. and thank you to a different <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/verified-babe">Grace</a> for beta reading for me!</p><p>yes, this was inspired by geese pissing me off on campus.</p><p>title from: "you happened" the prom</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In hindsight, maybe staring down a goose wasn’t the best idea.</p><p>Then again, it’s not like Sokka <em> wanted </em> to even look at a goose; it was just conveniently in his way while he was walking to get dinner. And, really, it was his first day back on campus after summer-- classes hadn’t even <em> started </em> yet-- so he was hoping for a bit of a break before the geese decided they owned campus once more.</p><p>Sure, glaring at the goose and making faces at it while he walked by might have been on the ridiculous side, but there wasn’t anyone around and Sokka simply doesn’t like geese.</p><p>But then it was the goose’s fault, because he was just going to walk away and carry on with the rest of his life. It was the goose who started following <em> him. </em></p><p>He stopped walking and looked behind him. Sure enough, the goose stopped waddling.</p><p>He pursed his lips then slowly took another step forward. So did the goose.</p><p>Frantically, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to his friend Suki, the biggest geese-hater in the world. She would know what to do.</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> sisbfkrbrjrj</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> okay maybe i shouldn’t have just had a stare off with a goose as i was walking because it definitely took a menacing step towards me AKDBKD</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> KSHDKS DON’T LOOK AT THE GEESE</p><p><b>Sooks:</b> THAT’S HOW THEY GET YOU</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> I KNOWWWWW</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> IT WAS JUST STANDING THERE</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> AND IT PISSED ME OFF AND NOW I’M BEING FOLLOWED</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> WHAT DO I DO???</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> run.</p><p> </p><p>That was good enough for him.</p><p>Sokka bolted-- running away as fast as he could. All he wanted was to get lunch in peace, maybe glare at a goose or two on the way, no different than any other day on campus!</p><p>This goose must have woken up and chosen violence, though, because it was flying after him.</p><p>So, really, it wasn’t <em> his </em> fault that he ran into someone while he was checking for the goose. He would’ve been paying attention to his surroundings if he wasn’t terrified of the devil biting his ear off or something.</p><p>Sokka fell to the ground hard, painfully catching himself on his elbows. That didn’t matter in the heat of the moment, though, because the goose was <em> still there. </em>So, he forgot that he had just run into someone, and forgot that they were still standing there, because suddenly, the goose was in his face.</p><p>Panic makes people do stupid things, Sokka realized. Never in his life did he think he would ever slap a goose across the face, yet in this moment of pure panic and agitation, he did.</p><p>It’s neck twisted to the side, and Sokka thought he would forever relish in the sight of its beak opening in shock-- as if it never thought anyone had the balls to fight it. Well, he did.</p><p>“Ha!” he yelled, stumbling to his feet and pointing at the goose. “Take that! That’s what you get!”</p><p>Can geese narrow their eyes? Is that even possible? Because he’s certain he just saw it narrow its eyes. The beady little lifeless orbs got just a bit smaller, like the beast  was glaring at him.</p><p>He raised his fists (yeah, this was <em> not </em> his proudest moment), fully prepared to take another swing, when the goose let out an angry <em> squawk </em>and flew away.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s right!” he called after it. “I win! You lose!” Sighing happily, Sokka turned around, preparing to continue on his walk to the dining hall, when he was face to face with the kid he ran into and <em> oh crap he was pretty. </em> And not just like pretty, he was pretty-pretty.</p><p>Pretty kid had black hair in a wolf cut, which, <em> wow. </em>His eyes were a brown so light that they almost looked gold (much prettier than the goose’s). What looked like a burn scar stretched over the left side of his face, but it wasn’t ugly. In fact, Sokka didn’t think there was anything that could tarnish his heavenly glow.</p><p>He didn’t even realize he had been staring until the kid cleared his throat.</p><p>“Did you just… slap a goose?”</p><p>For a moment, Sokka was about to nod proudly because yes, he <em> did </em> slap a goose and it felt <em> great, </em> but then it hit him: <em> he slapped a goose in front of a beautiful guy. </em> Not just that, but he <em> trash-talked </em> it afterwards.</p><p>He fluttered his lips, jerked his right shoulder. “Um, yes?” he answered cautiously, clamping his hands together and fiddling with his fingers.</p><p>The guy squinted, looking (rightfully) confused. “O-okay. Um, are you okay? You, uh, you fell pretty hard.”</p><p>Sokka laughed hastily. “I’m <em> great-- </em> fantastic, actually!”</p><p>Pretty boy tilted his head. “Are you sure? You’re bleeding.”</p><p>Oh? Sokka lifted his arms to take a look at his elbows and, yup, sure enough they must have scraped the pavement pretty hard for they were bleeding. “Oh, that? That’s nothing!” he answered a lot louder than he intended. “Doesn’t even hurt, not at all!”</p><p>It looked like the boy was about to say something else, but Sokka really wasn’t in the mood to continue to embarrass himself in front of someone so attractive. “So, thanks for uh, something! Yeah, anyways, bye!” he blurted out, shooting finger guns at him before sprinting away.</p><p>In the end, he never did make it to that dining hall. Instead, he ran to Suki’s dorm, slammed the fifth floor button on the elevator, and pounded on her door until she opened it, a bemused grin on her face.</p><p>“So,” she smirked, leaning against the door frame, “the geese got to you, huh?”</p><p>Sokka groaned, jutting his lip out and held his elbows up, blood trickling down his arm.</p><p>Suki sighed at the sight. “Come in, let’s clean you up.” She stepped out of the doorway so he could come into her room where he instantly flopped down on her bed.</p><p>“Hey, don’t get blood on my bed,” chided his friend as she closed the door. “I know you’re hurt, but I’m not afraid to push you off.”</p><p>Grumbling, Sokka sat up, hissing when his right elbow brushed against the comforter. “Sorry, Sooks. I’m just in pain,” he whined, grateful that Suki was an RA and had the room to herself so no one else had to witness the disheveled state the goose had left him in. “Geese are mean.”</p><p>“That’s what I’ve been saying for years,” said Suki, rummaging through her desk and pulling out a first aid kit. She grabbed a water bottle and some paper towels, pouring the liquid onto it. “Extend your arms out.”</p><p>Sokka did so, squeezing his eyes shut as his friend began gently wiping his elbows to get any dirt and debris out.</p><p>“So, did the geese do this to you or…”</p><p>“No, I fell,” he responded dejectedly. “It was chasing me and I ran into a really cute guy and fell down.”</p><p>He glared at Suki when she bit her lip to keep from laughing. “No, it’s not funny,” she told him, though he could tell she didn’t really mean it.</p><p>“Oh, it gets worse,” he continued, wincing as Suki dabbed a particularly tender spot. “Not only did I fall in front of a pretty guy, but I slapped and yelled at the goose in front of him.”</p><p>She snorted. “You slapped the goose?”</p><p>“I slapped it!” He paused, his nose twitching. “Sooks, I gotta…” he trailed off, smiling sheepishly. Suki nodded, stepping back for a moment so he could fist pump the air three times. “Ow.”</p><p>“Well, what happened after that?” she prompted, dabbing a few more soft before throwing the paper towel away and sifting through the first aid kit. She grabbed two winged adhesive bandages.</p><p>“Cute guy said pretty much the same thing you did,” he sighed, bending his arms so Suki could put the bandages on. “Spirits, Sooks! It was so embarrassing! First day of sophomore year and I get attacked by a goose and make a fool of myself in front of a super cute guy! …I think the world is trying to tell me that it hates me.”</p><p>Again, Suki snorted as she bandaged his right elbow. “Yeah, I’m getting that too.” She pursed her lips, slowly covering his left elbow with the final bandage. “There! Good as new!”</p><p>“Now if only you could put a bandage on my pride.”</p><p>Suki sympathetically patted his shoulder. “No can do, honey. Now, I have to go to a meeting with the hall director to prepare for floor meetings tonight. Go get some lunch and don’t instigate the geese.”</p><p>“You’re one to talk,” he scoffed, standing up. “I’ve literally heard you threaten geese like thirty times.”</p><p>“See, the difference is if I were to start a fight with geese, I would win. You would lose,” she said, gesturing to his elbows. </p><p>“Ugh, I hope your meeting is boring.”</p><p>“Oh, I’m sure it will be. See you later, hun.”</p><p>Sokka sulked the entire way back down to the lobby. He wished that he lived in the same dorm as Suki so he could just go to his room and wallow in pity in his bed. Then again, his roommate, Aang, would ask what was wrong and then probably tell his sister and she would make fun of him. So, maybe it’s for the best that he had to stop at a dining hall on the way back.</p><p>Thankfully, he didn’t run into any geese on the way. Each time he saw one of the demon birds, he abruptly turned and found a different way to get there. Sure, it added an extra three minutes to his walk, but it’s not like it mattered all that much in the long run.</p><p>The dining hall wasn’t too loud when he walked in, something he appreciated. He hadn’t really noticed his anxiety had spiked after his embarrassing fall, so he was glad he could just sit tucked away in the corner and eat his food.</p><p>He got a sandwich from the deli and a bottle of water, then sat down as far away from people as he possibly could. He pulled his headphones out of his bag and put them in, turning on a podcast about the U.S.’ economy, and then grabbed his fidget spinner. Sokka giggled as he watched his fidget toy spin around on his finger. For some reason, the stupid piece of plastic was always able to calm him down.</p><p>It calmed him down so much so that by the time he finished eating and was back in his dorm room, he had managed to shove the goose-cute-boy incident to the back of his mind.</p><p>At least, he did for two days until the semester officially began and classes started.</p><p>Sokka’s first class was a required course: History 150. Honestly, Sokka was never a big fan of history. He did look his professor up online, though, so he had high-hopes it wouldn’t be some arbitrary white-washed history class. Still, though, he would much rather spend his time taking major-related class than memorize a bunch of information he already knew or would forget within days.</p><p>What really messed him up, though, is that the only History 150 class that fit with his already packed schedule was at 9am. Sokka had the tendency to sleep in but also got anxious when he wasn’t punctual, so it was a bad recipe all around.</p><p>Really, he didn’t mean to run late. He woke up at 8:45 to Aang shaking his shoulder and pointing furiously at the clock. In his panicked state, he barely had time to change out of his pajamas, pack his backpack, and grab his skateboard. In fact, he didn’t even have time to put his hair up, so it hung loosely around his jaw.</p><p>He was sweating and panting by the time he burst through the door to his history. As tired as he was, Sokka was proud of himself for making it to class with three minutes to spare. Unfortunately, all of the aisle seats were taken, so he had to sit in the middle of a row in between people, which he <em> never </em> enjoyed. It always made him feel confined and claustrophobic.</p><p>Breathlessly, Sokka plopped down between a kid in a black hoodie and a girl with red hair who were sitting close to the end of the third row. He was in such a rush that he hadn’t taken a good look at who he sat by, he just bolted to the first available seat he saw and pulled the desk tray up. He was about to grab his laptop from out of his backpack when the kid in the hoodie spoke.</p><p>“A-are you the kid who slapped that goose a couple days ago?”</p><p>Sokka froze. That voice… he recognized that voice.</p><p>Ever so slowly, Sokka turned around, carefully setting his laptop on his desk and meeting the gaze of hoodie kid. Near golden eyes, black hair in a wolf cut… Spirits, it was the gorgeous kid he ran into two days prior. His throat felt parched and dry because he was just as pretty now as he was then, except this time, Sokka was sitting right next to him.</p><p>The kid was staring at him, his eyebrows scrunched and making a face that kind of resembled sucking on a lemon that wasn’t terribly sour, just weird-tasting.</p><p>“Heh heh,” Sokka chuckled, gulping nervously, his hands twisting in his lap. “I-um, yes. Y-you, uhm you remember that?”</p><p>The kid quirked a brow. “It’s not everyday you see someone slap a goose.”</p><p>Sokka awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “It was chasing me and I, uh, panicked.”</p><p>“You didn’t have to slap it, you know,” the kid said, frowning. “It probably thought you had bread or something.”</p><p>Sokka nearly combusted on the spot. “Excuse me? Spirits, please don’t tell me you’re one of those kids who actually <em> like </em> geese?”</p><p>“I do like geese, mostly,” the beautiful boy responded, rolling his eyes. “I prefer ducks, but geese are close enough. It’s not like it was doing anything wrong.”</p><p><em> “It was chasing me!” </em> he all but screeched, and yeah, he was pretty sure his left eye was twitching. “What would <em> you </em> have done, Mr. Goose Lover?”</p><p>“Well, I probably would’ve asked the goose to stop following me.”</p><p>“You think it would listen to you?”</p><p>“If I was nice, maybe.”</p><p>Sokka opened his mouth to respond, but their teacher stepped up to the front of the class and began talking.</p><p>He barely managed to listen for five minutes. Based on the little information Sokka managed to grasp, he could tell today would just be a syllabus day, so he didn’t have to pay attention.</p><p>Instead, he focused on the sensation of the way his right leg was bouncing up and down in the chair. The universe just hated him, it seemed. There are thousands of people on campus! Why did the attractive boy who watched him fight a goose have to be in his first class on the first day of the school year? How was that fair?</p><p>He pulled iMessage up on his laptop as his teacher droned on and sent Suki a text.</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> remember when i slapped a goose</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> vividly</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> remember how i told u i ran into a really cute guy</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> it was two days ago yes i remember</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> he’s in my class right now</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> i’m sitting next to him</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> he remembered me</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> i think i might die</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> hA</p><p><b>Sooks:</b> that’s amazing</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> nO IT’S NOT!</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> he likes geese</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> how</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> idk buT HE REMEMBERED ME</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> idk if that’s a good thing or a bad thing</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> he’s still really pretty</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> i’m too bisexual for this</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> hahhahhahahah</p><p> </p><p>Resisting the urge to slam his head on the desk was difficult, and the only remedy he could think of was to play online sudoku. It was distracting enough for the time being, and it always made him feel smart. He greatly preferred numbers to history anyways.</p><p>Sokka had just begun the second sudoku puzzle when suddenly there was a hand waving in front of his computer screen, and the hand was definitely not his. He swatted it away and looked to its owner-- the pretty goose-lover-- who was eyeing him quizzically.</p><p>“Class is over,” the kid said, voice flat.</p><p>Sokka blinked, his eyes flitting across the room. Yup. Other than the two of them, there were two girls packing up still in the classroom. “Huh,” was all he managed to say.</p><p>“Why were you playing sudoku?” the kid asked him as he closed his laptop and stuffed it in his backpack.</p><p>“Why <em> weren’t </em> you playing sudoku?” he blurted out. Spirits, it’s like Sokka <em> wanted </em> him to think he was an idiot. It’s not like he could help the fact that his heart was fluttering and he felt his hands get all clammy, it was his natural reaction to making a fool of himself in front of pretty people. Katara liked to joke that his brain shuts down when he sees attractive people, and that certainly seemed to be the case with this kid.</p><p>The kid just gave him another weird look, and Sokka noticed his eyes flicker to his hair and back. Sokka began to squirm under his scrutinizing gaze, grabbing the edges of his hair defensively-- he knew that his hair was probably a mess. He didn’t like to leave it down because he thought it looked weird on him. Spirits, it must look terrible today if the goose-lover was looking at it. His fist pumped in the air twice and his chin jerked upwards. Still, the boy just stared at him.</p><p>“Well, look at the time! Gotta go! Class-another-to yup!” For the second time in the span of three days, Sokka ran away from the pretty boy, mentally berating himself for not being able to talk in front of cute people.</p><hr/><p>History 150 took place three times a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.</p><p>The second history class was Wednesday, and Sokka made sure to set multiple alarms so he wouldn’t be late this time and he could sit in an aisle seat.</p><p>He was there fifteen minutes early that morning. Satisfied, he sat down in the first seat in the third row. Once he got settled and unpacked, Sokka looked around the room. His foot tapping against the floor. It was then that he noticed that there was a backpack sitting in the chair next to him. Just his luck that he hadn’t noticed the one singular backpack currently in the lecture hall and sat down beside it.</p><p>Shrugging to himself (and not moving because he liked the number three-- he did everything in threes-- thinking about switching rows made his brain buzz uncomfortably), he opened his laptop and clicked on the notes app. Sokka was feeling a bit restless for whatever reason, and he found that writing a list of the periodic table elements in order always managed to distract him.</p><p>He was about nineteen elements in when he heard the door open and shut. Sokka glanced above his scream and almost pulled his hair out. Of <em> course </em> it was the goose lover, and he was <em> backpack-less, </em>which meant his backpack was probably in the seat beside him.</p><p>To make matters worse, he wasn’t wearing a hoodie this time. No, he was wearing a short-sleeve black shirt. Since his arms weren’t covered, Sokka could see that he had well-defined muscles, but that’s not what made him short-circuit. Wrapping along his arm was what looked like an intricate dragon tattoo. The way it was done made it look as if it were coiling along his bicep. <em> Wow. </em></p><p>It’s like the universe said <em> what’s better than one attractive stranger? An attractive stranger with a super cool tattoo. </em></p><p>“You’re here early,” Sokka squeaked, shifting his position so he was sitting criss-cross applesauce in his chair so the boy could walk through.</p><p>“I’m punctual,” was his response, eyebrows furrowed in a way that indicated he was serious. “Why are you here so early?” He moved his backpack to the ground and sat down in his chair.</p><p>Sokka chewed on his thumb. “I wanted an aisle seat.” The kid, he noticed, was sitting very straight in his chair. For a moment, Sokka felt really self-conscious about the fact that he was literally bent over and rocking back and forth in comparison. At least, he did until he noticed the kid tapping his foot similarly to the way Sokka had been earlier.</p><p>“Do you, uh, do you want to borrow one of my fidget toys?” Sokka nearly clamped a hand over his mouth. He had thought about asking it, sure, but he didn’t think he’d actually have the guts to <em> say </em>it. “Uhh, because, I have a lot with me, and your, uh, your foot is tapping.”</p><p>The kid’s eyes widened and he looked down at his feet. “Oh. I didn’t realize. It’s fine, though. I don’t really need one.” He bobbed his head up and down. “Thank you, um, for the offer.”</p><p>Now it was Sokka who was bobbing his head. “Okay. That-that’s okay. Just wanted to, uh, ask.”</p><p>There was a moment of awkward silence. Sokka wanted to say something, but he was worried something even more embarrassing than everything he’d already done would escape him. He took a second to breathe in and then out-- Aang had taught him some breathing exercises for when his anxiety got bad.</p><p>“I’m Sokka,” he finally said, flashing what he hoped was a charming smile.</p><p>“Zuko,” the kid-- Zuko-- answered, a small grin on his face.</p><p>“Zuko,” Sokka repeated, curling his middle finger around his index finger. “That’s better than <em> Goose Lover, </em>that’s what I’ve been calling you in my head.” It tumbled out before he could stop it.</p><p>He was about to apologize (for what, he wasn’t sure. He just really felt like he had to apologize) when Zuko giggled, a reaction he had <em> not </em> been expecting.</p><p>“I don’t love geese <em> that </em>much,” Zuko told him. “I just really like birds, or, anything with wings, actually. They’re nice to talk to.” He paled as soon as the words left his mouth, clenching his hand into a fist and shoving it against his forehead. “Well, no, I mean-- what I meant-- ugh.” He cut himself off.</p><p>In all honesty, Sokka found the statement kind of enduring. Zuko looked a little ashamed, though, as if that statement single-handedly would make Sokka revoke their acquaintance-ship. “Nothing wrong with that,” he said quickly, causing Zuko to peek at him over his fist. “I mean, I kind of talk to animals too, but, uh, mostly just geese. And by that, I mean I yell at them for being in my way. Which you would know. Heh.”</p><p>That seemed to make Zuko feel a bit more comfortable, so he continued. “I mean, I don’t like, have conversations with animals, but I, um, I list the elements on the periodic table out for fun, like, once a day at least.”</p><p>Zuko’s hand fell to his side, exposing his flushed cheeks. “You have them memorized?” he gaped. “Aren’t there, like, a hundred of them?”</p><p>“Heh, 118, actually,” he chuckled, reaching into his pocket, pulling out his fidget spinner and giving it a mighty push. “Nitrogen, the seventh one is my favorite, actually! Because it’s one of those weird ones that’s perfectly happy with three bonds and a lone pair, which is more than I can say for the noble gases. They’re so stuck up, thinking they’re so cool since they don’t react with anything.” He rolled his eyes. “Helium, amiright?”</p><p>He looked up from the swirling silver and blue of his fidget spinner to see Zuko blinking at him in confusion. “I take it you aren’t a big science person, huh?” he remarked hesitantly.</p><p>Zuko shook his head. “Not really, all of that kind of went over my head.”</p><p>Sokka scrunched his nose, chewing on the inside of his lip. “Sorry. Sometimes I start talking about that sort of stuff and no one stops me so I just go on and on about chemical reactions and all that sort of stuff. Aaaand I’m rambling again, I’ll shut up now.”</p><p><em> Spirits, I ruined it, didn’t I? </em> he thought. <em> We were talking, and then I started rambling and he doesn’t even like that stuff and he’s looking at me like I’m crazy and-- </em></p><p>“You don’t have to,” Zuko piped up, this soft sort of look on his face. “I-I don’t mind. I like listening.”</p><p>His heart proceeded to melt in his chest, his toes tapping relentlessly inside his crocs. He couldn’t decide whether he wanted to beam or wither away at the intense but assuring way Zuko was looking at him, the way he had sounded so honest.  “Oh. Um, thank you. I, uh, I like to talk.”</p><p>Sure, Sokka immediately regretted the way he responded, but it’s not every day people encouraged him to continue talking. And Zuko was still gazing intently at him. Usually, the staring would make Sokka completely freak out and become even more fidgety, but it didn’t this time. Maybe it was because Zuko seemed to stare a lot, or maybe it was because his gaze made him feel important in a way that he couldn’t quite grasp or explain, but he didn’t mind it.</p><p>It was then that people started filing into the classroom, their teacher included. Any response that Zuko may have had died at his lips. He fussed with his hair for a second before pulling his laptop out.</p><p>Class started soon after, and once more, Sokka struggled to focus. So much so, in fact, that he ended up having to close his laptop and pull out his notebook and mechanical pencil so he could doodle. While he wasn’t the best artist ever, he always found that doodling made him pay more attention in class and information was easier to process.</p><p>He tapped his pencil against his chin as he tried to figure out what he wanted to draw. A movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention, and when he shifted his head to see what it was, he was greeted with the sight of Zuko putting his hair up in a low ponytail.</p><p>That gave Sokka an idea or two.</p><p>Since Zuko liked geese so much, Sokka figured he would draw him a poor caricature of a goose. He didn’t draw animals too often so it didn’t turn out very good, but if he wanted any of his drawings to turn out terribly, he was glad it was the goose. Then he started to draw a duck, since Zuko said he liked them. It looked too much like the goose, though, which wouldn’t do because Sokka didn’t mind ducks.</p><p>He squinted and glanced at Zuko once more. The first thing he saw was his dragon tattoo, but he figured dragons were too far out of his artistic range to attempt. Pursing his lips, he glanced at Zuko’s laptop, hoping he would have some stickers or something he could try to copy.</p><p>There weren’t a lot of stickers, he noticed, but he did see one small turtle sticker by his keyboard. That must have been what he needed because inspiration hit him like a truck, and he immediately ducked his head down and continued drawing.</p><p>The final product wasn’t the best thing he’d ever drawn, but he was proud of it nevertheless. Since the duck looked too much like a goose, he had redrawn it but as a mix of a duck and a turtle. It was actually kind of cute in an odd sort of way.</p><p>Grinning, he tore the half of the paper with the drawings off and wrote <em> “a goose for the goose lover and a duck-turtle to heal your soul from the soul-sucking demon (the goose)”. </em>It took everything in him not to laugh (he found himself to be hilarious), and folded the paper in half before placing it on Zuko’s keyboard.</p><p>Sokka ducked his head once more before Zuko could react, he didn’t want to watch in case it was a negative reaction (though, for whatever reason, deep down he knew it wouldn’t be). He reopened his laptop and pulled iMessages up once more.</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> suki</p><p><b>Sokka: </b>suki</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> soOKS</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> what</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> his name is zuko</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> goose lover = zuko</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> you talked to him???</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> i diD</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> and he laughed when i made a joke</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> also he has a dragon tattoo</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> w o a h</p><p><b>Sooks:</b> he laughed??? at your joke???</p><p><b>Sooks:</b> he’s a keeper</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> u think he can look past the goose situation and might want to be my history friend</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> anyone who laughs at your jokes probably wants to be your friend</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> you’re mean</p><p> </p><p>Class ended minutes after Sokka closed the messaging app, and he still couldn’t muster up the courage to look at Zuko.</p><p>As their teacher was concluding, Sokka reopened his notes and continued writing the elements of the periodic table out.</p><p>He managed to get ten more elements written when he heard the static sound of shuffling, people stuffing their backpacks and closing their laptops. As he was putting his own laptop away, he caught sight of Zuko walking down the aisle, and if he were a balloon, he would have deflated.</p><p>His thoughts were plagued with questions and worry-- did Zuko like them? Did he overstep his boundaries? Did he just ruin a possible friendship?</p><p>He didn’t think so, but anxiety doesn’t care to listen to rationality.</p><p>Sighing, he turned back around in his chair to push the desk back down when he saw a piece of paper sitting on the edge. With shaking hands, Sokka grabbed it and unfolded it, desperately hoping it wasn’t his drawings but vandalized.</p><p>
  <em> Duck-turtles, that’s cute. I think turtle-duck sounds better. You’re right, the goose you drew does look like a demon. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Thank you, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Zuko. </em>
</p><p>Slowly, Sokka looked around the classroom. It was empty. He carefully refolded the note and put it in his pocket, pushed the desk down, then stood up and whooped with glee.</p><hr/><p>History dragged on as the semester continued, boring beyond belief. It seemed like his teacher was trying to make it fun, but everything went in one ear and out the next. Though, it probably didn’t help that he sat by Zuko every day.</p><p>It wasn’t something the two boys had planned, it just sort of happened naturally.</p><p>They both arrived to class early and Sokka always sat in the same aisle seat in the third row. Sokka had been hesitant to continue sitting there at first, especially since Zuko always got there before him, but when he asked him if it was alright, the other boy had told him he didn’t mind.</p><p>Thankfully, Sokka had reached the point where he didn’t feel flustered around Zuko anymore, and he could have actual conversations with him. It was nice to have a friend in such a boring class, someone to pass notes to or make faces at. Sokka often found himself doodling little pictures and giving them to Zuko. The more he learned about Zuko, the closer they got as friends, just made him more enamored.</p><p>Zuko is a junior majoring in English with a focus in literature during one of their pre-class conversations. Zuko told him that he put some of his required classes off because he didn’t want to take them, so he was also in the required math class this semester and was struggling.</p><p>That led to Sokka excitedly asking what they were learning about (as he had tested out of the basic math classes), which in turn led to them doing homework together before class started. Soon enough, they both started coming to class a half hour early rather than fifteen minutes.</p><p>Eventually (with encouragement from Suki), Sokka mustered up the courage to ask Zuko if he wanted to get lunch together sometime, to hangout outside of the History 150 classroom.</p><p>It was Wednesday morning before class, about five weeks into the semester, and Sokka had just helped Zuko work through a rather tricky math problem. Sokka was fidgeting with his tangle-- a gift his dads had sent him when they noticed how much he was twisting and contorting his fingers during a facetime-- as Zuko was jotting down the rest of his work.</p><p>“You’re a grade-saver, Sokka,” Zuko sighed as he closed his notebook and put it back in his bag.</p><p>“Pssh, it’s nothing,” Sokka replied, winking.</p><p>Zuko rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”</p><p><em> This is it, </em> Sokka thought, biting his lip and glancing at his friend as he turned his laptop on out of the corner of his eye. <em> This is literally the perfect moment to ask if he wants to be friends outside of class. Just do it. </em>“Hey, Zuko?” he spoke up, keeping his head down and gaze focused on his tangle. “Do you maybe want to get lunch together sometime this week? If you’re free?”</p><p>There was a prolonged silence, and after a while Sokka began contemplating running away from an awkward encounter with Zuko for a third time. “I mean, nevermind. If you don’t want to, that’s fine--”</p><p>“No, no!” Zuko interrupted frantically. “I would love to. I was just-I was thinking through my work schedule.”</p><p>Sokka’s gaze snapped up to meet Zuko’s. He released a little breath of air, smiling. “Oh, okay! When do you have time?”</p><p>The corners of Zuko’s mouth were twitching, he noticed. There was something in his eyes, something Sokka couldn’t quite place. “Well, I have to miss class Friday because my sister forced me to switch shifts with her. Would you maybe want to meet me at The Jasmine Dragon at around 3:00 Friday? We could go to my house when I get off? You could go over what I missed and then, um, we could make lunch?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Sokka nodded. “That works! It’s a date!”</p><p>It took him a second to fully process what he had just said. Sokka felt his eyes grow wide. Zuko tilted his head in that really adorable way he does, the way that makes his heart feel like mush.</p><p>Just as he was about to correct himself, Zuko spoke up: “Y-yeah. It’s a date.”</p><p>Sokka was ecstatic, to say the least, this giddy elation coursing through his veins. He could hardly concentrate during class.</p><p>Thinking back to the day he first met Zuko, he couldn’t help but feel grateful that the stupid goose had chased him. If it hadn’t, he wouldn’t have run into Zuko.</p><p>Maybe geese weren’t so bad after all (no, they were-- they definitely were-- but they managed to do something right this time).</p><p>He opened iMessage upon realizing that even attempting to take notes would be fruitless.</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> SUKI</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> i asked zuko if we could hang out sometime</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> aND HE SAID YES</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> proud of you!</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> we’re going to his house on friday</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> i’m so excited. and nervous</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> i accidentally told him “it’s a date”</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> but then he said it back to me</p><p><b>Sokka:</b> maybe being chased by that goose was a good thing</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> i wouldn’t go that far</p><p><b>Sooks:</b> don’t praise the devil</p><p> </p><p><b>Sokka:</b> you’re just jealous because the goose led me to a cute guy instead of biting me</p><p> </p><p><b>Sooks:</b> i will end your life</p><p> </p><p>Sokka chose not to respond to that, knowing full well that Suki probably could and would definitely end his life.</p><p>Class seemed to drag on forever, so Sokka grabbed his notebook once more and doodled, the only way he knew how to pay attention. He started by doodling some hearts, but none of them looked quite right so he gave up after six attempts.</p><p>Since excitement at the fact that he was going to hang out with Zuko was consuming his mind, Sokka decided to draw another turtle-duck (after talking with Zuko, they both agreed that was better than duck-turtle). This time, once he finished the sketch, he added a scar over the turtle-duck’s left eye, then he erased some of his lines and added his best attempt at a wolf cut atop its head.</p><p>It looked just like Zuko, if he were to turn into a turtle-duck, at least.</p><p>He drew another one, this one facing the Zuko-turtle-duck. When he finished the basic sketch, he added his wolf tail and the necklace he always wore around its neck.</p><p>There-- it was them.</p><p>He tore that part of the paper off and tossed it on Zuko’s desk just as the class ended.</p><p>“I’ll look at this when I get off of work today!” Zuko told him, smiling eagerly as he put the paper in his pocket. “I gotta go because I forgot my work clothes at my house and I have to be there in a half hour, but I’ll see you on Friday, okay?”</p><p>“Yup! 3’oclock at the Jasmine Dragon!” Sokka confirmed, giving him a thumbs up.</p><p>When he got back to his dorm after his classes ended for the day, Zuko was still on his mind. He tossed his backpack to the side and flopped into his desk chair, relishing in the way his chair spun due to his momentum.</p><p>“Wow, you’re in a good mood,” Aang remarked, sitting at his own desk with a textbook open.</p><p>“Yeah,” he sighed happily, pushing his desk with his hands so he could spin some more. “I am. I really am.”</p><hr/><p>Thursday went by agonizingly slow. Sokka never saw Zuko on Tuesdays or Thursdays, which objectively made them the worst days of the week (right next to Saturday and Sunday for also depriving him of Zuko-time).</p><p>Finally, it was Friday.</p><p>Sitting through history without Zuko was weird. He got there early, as usual, and had to just sit there by himself, so he wrote out the elements of the periodic table in numerical order and then alphabetical order, just to make it a bit more challenging.</p><p>He did his best to concentrate during class, taking as many notes as he could so he could relay them to Zuko as efficiently and helpfully as possible.</p><p>He was restless through all of his classes, his legs bouncing much more than usual, his fist pumping an annoying amount, and he continued to tic the word “turtle-duh” (yes, turtle-duh, not duck-- <em> duh) </em> frequently. A new tic born from his excitement, he supposed.</p><p>Sokka had never been to the Jasmine Dragon before. He didn’t actually leave campus too often since he’s taken eighteen credit hours every semester thus far and didn’t really have the time. It was about a fifteen minute walk from his latest class which ended at 2:50. Luckily, he had checked google maps beforehand and brought his skateboard with him so he could get there faster.</p><p>The Jasmine dragon was really cozy, he noticed as he walked in. There were tables and booths scattered throughout the building as well as a couple of couches and a fireplace. The place was pretty empty at the moment; one elderly couple was sitting in one of the booths and talking and that was it.</p><p>He grinned upon seeing Zuko standing behind the counter, wearing a green visor and apron atop a black short-sleeved shirt. “Hey, Zuko!” he greeted, waving as he walked to the counter.</p><p>Zuko visibly perked up as he approached. “Hi, Sokka! How was class?”</p><p>“Ugh, boring,” he replied. “How was work?”</p><p>“Also boring,” Zuko told him. “The rush doesn’t begin until around 6:00, so it’s been pretty dead. My sister should be here soon, though, and then we can go. You want anything while you’re here? I get a free cup of whatever every shift and I haven’t used it today.”</p><p>Sokka rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling. “I, uh, I actually don’t really drink tea, so I’m not sure what I would like.”</p><p>Zuko waved him off. “No big deal. Here, I’ll just make you a cup of jasmine tea, that’s my favorite kind. Be right back!”</p><p>He walked somewhere in the back, so Sokka took that as an opportunity to sit down. His neck jerked, his chin thrust upwards, he fluttered his lips, and the elderly couple gave him a weird yet not annoyed look. Still, he couldn’t be happier.</p><p>The door opened a minute after Zuko went in the back, and Sokka instinctively turned his head at the sound. It was a girl who looked about his age, maybe, with black hair in a tight bun. She looked eerily similar to Zuko and was wearing a black turtleneck and pants, so he assumed it was his sister.</p><p>The thought of Zuko made him smile, and it seemed that maybe Zuko (or, realistically, excitement) was the trigger for his new verbal tic, for as soon as the thought crossed his mind and his presumably goofy smile graced his face, he let out an abnormally loud <em> “Turtle-duh-duh-duh!” </em></p><p>The girl turned her head at the sound. If Sokka thought Zuko’s gaze was intense, this girl’s was <em> piercing, </em> so sharp that Sokka felt as if she could kill him simply with a look and then hide the evidence and never get caught. Her left eyebrow raised and her lips transformed into a smirk. “Oh, so <em> you’re </em> the turtle-duck boy,” she said.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“You’re Sokka, are you not? The one who always draws those silly, imaginary turtle-duck things for Zuzu?”</p><p>“Zuzu?” Sokka felt like he was about to choke on his own spit because <em> wow, </em> that was a lot to process. Does… does Zuko talk about him at work or home? His sister calls him <em> Zuzu? </em>Should he call Zuko “Zuzu” just to see his reaction?</p><p><em> “Azula!” </em> Zuko stepped out from behind the counter, a cup in his hand and an angsty, blushy expression on his face. “Azula! Stop bothering Sokka!” He pursed his lips as he set the cup down on the table.</p><p>“I’m not bothering him, Zuzu,” Azula drawled, rolling her eyes. “I just wanted to see if he was everything you made him out to be.” At that, her smirk deepened, turning into the malicious sort of grin that Sokka had seen on Katara many times before she did something he wouldn’t like. “You know, Zuzu talks about you all the time.”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>
  <em> “Azula!” </em>
</p><p>Zuko was fuming-- his face all scrunched up and he was crossing his arms. Angry Zuko, Sokka noticed, is pretty funny (and adorable). He watched as the siblings glared at each other, trying desperately not to burst into laughter.</p><p>“Go clock in, Azula,” Zuko finally said. “Sokka is going to catch me up on what I missed in history today since I covered <em> your </em> shift.”</p><p>“Whatever, I have better things to do than watch you two dance around each other,” Azula replied, winking at Sokka as she walked behind the counter.</p><p>“Your sister is scary, Zuzu,” Sokka spoke up.</p><p>“Please, I beg of you, don’t call me that,” Zuko sighed, shaking his head. “I’m going to get the back stocked for her and then I’ll be ready to go. Give me, like, five minutes!”</p><p>“No problem!” Sokka shot him a thumbs up as Zuko went back behind the counter. Azula came out from the back a minute later, wearing a green visor and apron as well.</p><p>Sokka took the next few minutes as an opportunity to try the tea. He’d actually never had tea before, being more of a coffee or energy drink kind of guy himself. He sniffed it first, unsure of how to feel about the smell. It wasn’t a <em> bad </em> smell, just strange. Shrugging, he took a small sip. It also wasn’t bad, better than he had expected, at least.</p><p>Besides, Zuko made it. He would drink the whole thing even if it was terrible.</p><p>A couple minutes later, Zuko returned to his side, his apron and visor gone. “Ready?” he asked.</p><p>“Yup!” Sokka chirped, jumping to his feet and adjusting his backpack.</p><p>“Oh, here, I can carry your skateboard for you, since you already have your backpack.” Zuko reached and carefully pried the skateboard from his hands before he could protest, and when he was about to try and steal it back, he began walking away.</p><p>“I live just a few blocks down, so I walk to work,” Zuko explained as they exited the shop. “Oh, and my roommate Jet might be home from work when we’re back, so just a heads up. He can be… he can be interesting sometimes. He’s the best roommate I could’ve asked for, but he likes to poke fun at literally everyone.”</p><p>Sokka snorted. “No big deal. My sister pokes fun at me constantly, so I’ll live.”</p><p>They spent the rest of the walk talking about their day-- how Sokka’s other classes went and how annoying customers can be. Listening to Zuko rant about entitled rich people was pure serotonin. He got louder as he told Sokka about a particularly aggravating middle aged woman from a couple hours ago. It was fun to hear Zuko practically screaming as he reached the climax of the story.</p><p>By the time Zuko finished telling him about the woman, they had reached his house. It was definitely a campus house: a bit dirty and worn on the outside, but convenient.</p><p>The inside was fairly small, one story with a kitchen, living room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms, but Zuko and his roommate, Jet, had been able to make it so personable. There were an obscene number of pillows on the couches and photos lining the walls.</p><p>Zuko walked in ahead of him, leaning the skateboard against the wall and gestured towards the couch. “I’m going to change, but you can sit down. I won’t be long.”</p><p>Sokka shrugged his backpack off, setting it on the floor in front of the couch before sitting down himself. He figured the best way to do this was just to have Zuko read his notes, it wasn’t like they had learned anything interesting in class, it was mostly dates and weirdly specific stuff.</p><p>True to his word, Zuko returned just a minute later, now wearing maroon sweats and his sweatshirt. He plopped down next to Sokka, grabbing a pillow and hugging it to his chest. “So, what’d I miss?”</p><p>“Nothing worthwhile,” Sokka said. “I took notes but I really don’t think there’s anything I can add that I didn’t write down, if you just want to read them.”</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>Sokka handed Zuko his laptop, then pulled his phone out so he could play sudoku while he waited. He managed to take about three pages of notes, which was more than he usually took during history; he wanted to make sure Zuko got everything he needed.</p><p>Zuko was two pages into the notes when the door to his house opened. “Hey, Jet,” Zuko said, his eyes never leaving the screen.</p><p>“Hey, Zuko,” Jet replied, throwing his bag into the living room and stretching. “Spirits, I hate my job.”</p><p>“I’m telling you, Uncle will hire you if you want,” Zuko deadpanned.</p><p>“Eh, I’ll think about it.” Jet said so casually that Sokka thought this was a recurring conversation. He then turned his attention to Sokka. “So, this is the boy you said you were bringing?”</p><p>“I’m in Zuko’s history class,” Sokka told him, setting his phone down and curling his fingers. “We’re getting lunch.”</p><p>Jet’s incredibly thin eyebrows raised. “Ohh, <em> you’re </em> the kid in his history class! You know, Zuko here talks about you constantly.”</p><p><em> “Jet!” </em> That made Zuko look up from the notes.</p><p>He shrugged. “I’m just saying, you do.” Jet paused for a moment, looking between the two of them. “Whatever, have fun studying with your boyfriend.”</p><p>Zuko lurched at the comment, nearly dropping Sokka’s laptop and falling off the couch. Sokka himself felt his face heat up. “Sokka is not my-- ugh! Jet! You’re just as bad as Azula!”</p><p>Jet raised his hands in defense. “Hey, sorry! I assumed you two were dating because of the hearts on that one drawing of those turtle-duck things you showed me and--”</p><p>“Jet. Leave. Now,” Zuko ordered through clenched teeth, pointing at what Sokka presumed was the bedroom door.</p><p>As Jet walked away, Sokka thought about Jet’s last statement, about the hearts on the… <em> oh. </em> Oh no. Sokka’s foot began to tap almost violently against the carpet, his neck twitching like there’s no tomorrow. That last picture he had drawn for Zuko, he left hearts. They were right above the turtle-ducks he had drawn of the two of them. He didn’t even <em> think </em> before tossing the picture at Zuko.</p><p>“I am so sorry for my sister and my roommate,” Zuko groaned, shoving his face in the pillow. “They’re the worst.”</p><p>“I’m, uh, I’m sorry about the hearts,” Sokka muttered, flashing a thumbs up and a fist pump simultaneously. “I forgot about them. That they were there.”</p><p>It might have been his imagination, but Zuko appeared to deflate a bit after Sokka apologized.</p><p>“I didn’t… I didn’t mind the hearts,” Zuko mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow.</p><p>“You didn’t?”</p><p>Zuko made a whining sound and shoved his face deeper still.</p><p>Sokka swallowed. He was a scientist, a scientist who collected evidence and data and came to conclusions. Jet thought they were dating, Zuko didn’t mind the hearts, both his sister and his roommate said that Zuko talked about him… </p><p>He hoped that the conclusion he was drawing was accurate, because otherwise this would get far more awkward than it needed to be and he could possibly ruin their friendship which, in all honesty, is turning out to be one of the best friendships he’s had.</p><p>“I, um, I drew the hearts on purpose,” Sokka admitted quietly, twiddling his thumbs. “Because, um, the two turtle-ducks really like each other, I think. And the hearts represented their love.”</p><p>Zuko’s head shot up and he looked at Sokka with wild eyes. “Wait are you--”</p><p>“I wouldn’t mind!” Sokka interrupted. He cleared his throat, trying to find the right words. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind if we were like the turtle-ducks. Or like what Jet said about, um, being boyfriends. If you want to, that is.”</p><p>“I want to!” Zuko exclaimed, jumping a little. “I would really like to be your boyfriend and have you be mine, or try it out at least.”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>This couldn’t be happening, there was no way. Sokka felt as if his breath was caught in his chest, his brain was hammering against his skull, but not in a painful way. It was almost like his brain was thudding along with his heart, creating this warmth that spread throughout his body.</p><p>“Hey, you’re shaking,” Zuko muttered, hesitantly reaching out and placing his hands on top of Sokka’s. And, huh, Sokka didn’t even realize he had been shaking. “Are you okay?”</p><p>He nodded vehemently, melting at the touch. “No, I-I am. I’ve just, heh. The reason I ran away from you those two times is because, uh, well, I thought you were really pretty and I couldn’t believe I acted like a fool in front of someone so, um, so pretty,” he explained, his fingers twitching beneath Zuko’s hands.</p><p>“Oh, do you want me to--” Zuko made to remove his hands, but Sokka quickly weaved his fingers between Zuko’s before he could do so.</p><p>“No! It’s fine, it’s nice, like really nice. It’s just a dumb tic,” Sokka said hurriedly, brushing it off. “I’m fine, really. I’m just, wow. I always thought about maybe asking you out but I didn’t think you would like me that way… especially after I slapped a goose.”</p><p>Zuko giggled-- a sound that was more enchanting and intoxicating than the sweetest of music. “While I didn’t <em> want </em>you to slap the goose, it was pretty funny,” he murmured, scooting a bit closer. “And I think I would’ve been too nervous to say anything to you that first day of class if I hadn’t watched you do it.”</p><p>“What? Too introverted to talk to me?” he joked, snorting.</p><p>Zuko rolled his eyes, but it was that action that made Sokka realize, all those times Zuko had been staring at him, that look in his eye that he could never quite place was fondness.</p><p>“I guess that was a part of it,” he admitted, his ears turning red. “Your hair was down, when you came into class. I thought you were attractive when you ran into me, but… it’s like seeing you with your hair down turned something on in my head. You were… <em> beautiful.” </em></p><p>Sokka didn’t mean to lunge forward or cup Zuko’s face; he didn’t mean to kiss him. There was something about what Zuko had said-- maybe it was the fact that no one had ever really called Sokka beautiful since his mom died, maybe it was the way his voice sounded when he spoke gently; husky and raspy, that pulled on his heart strings.</p><p>But Sokka did it anyway, relishing in the taste of Zuko’s lips against his, the way that Zuko had immediately reciprocated the kiss, wrapping his arms around Sokka’s waist and practically pulling him into his lap.</p><p>Sokka brushed his fingers against Zuko’s skin, tenderly tracing the lines of his face and brushing away any hair that came loose.</p><p>Once Sokka was secured in his lap, Zuko’s hands found their way to his wolf tail, pulling the hair tie out and throwing it to the side, eagerly running his fingers through it.</p><p>It was surreal-- fulfilling the hiraeth that wracked his brain and fed his anxiety. The way their bodies fit together was so natural, as if they were filling a void they never realized was there.</p><p>“Spirits, I thought you two said you <em> weren’t </em>dating.”</p><p>They instantly broke apart, one of Zuko’s hands lingered at the tips of his hair while the other wrapped around his waist. Sokka’s arms reflexively moved around Zuko’s neck to steady himself. Jet was standing in the threshold of his room, leaning against the door frame with an annoyingly smug smirk.</p><p>“Oh, hey, Jet,” Zuko coughed, his eyes unnaturally wide. “Um… yeah. We weren’t.”</p><p>“Heh, we are now, though,” added Sokka, quickly looking at Zuko who affirmed with a nod. “Um, yes, we are now boyfriends.”</p><p>“I told you so,” Jet snickered. “Zuko literally talked about you like you already were his boyfriend, lemme tell you. His eyes would glaze over, and he’d have this disgustingly dreamy smile and--”</p><p><em> “Jet!” </em> Zuko shrieked. “We are-- why are you--”</p><p>“Relax,” Jet cut it, giving Sokka a look that seemed to convey <em> this guy, amiright? </em> “I’ll just go back to my room before I give Zuko an aneurysm. Use protection, okay?”</p><p>Zuko let out another high-pitched shriek, flashing his middle finger at Jet before he went back into his bedroom.</p><p>“I’m going to kill him,” Zuko rasped, leaning forward so his forehead was touching Sokka’s. “Both of them: him and Azula.”</p><p>Sokka chuckled. “You’re so cute when you’re about to combust,” he teased, pressing a kiss to the tip of Zuko’s nose. “Well, you’re actually always cute. Definitely cuter than geese.”</p><p>“Really, we just had this moment, kissed, all that jazz, and then you bring up <em> geese? </em> You hate geese,” Zuko scoffed, but his words tone wasn’t malicious or annoyed, it was soft, sweet.</p><p>“Mmm, yeah I do,” Sokka mused. “But they led me to you. And I’m not lying, you’re very cute. Like, probably the cutest person I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Cuter than a turtle-duck, even.”</p><p>“Pfft, those aren’t even real.”</p><p>“Fine then, you’re the most beautiful, adorable, cute, wonderful, amazing thing imaginable.”</p><p>Zuko’s face flushed again-- it happened quite frequently. “I don’t know if that’s possible.”</p><p>“Oh really? Why not? Because sitting here and looking at you makes me feel like Icarus; I’m so close to the sun, blinding, irresistible… my sunshine.” Wow, Sokka wasn’t sure where that came from. It was the type of flirting he would’ve liked to have a couple weeks ago.</p><p>“I was going to say it wasn’t possible because you’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen,” Zuko whispered, pressing a kiss against his cheek. “But, wow, I love metaphors and that might be the hottest thing I’ve ever heard.”</p><p>“Not hotter than you, <em> Sunshine,” </em> Sokka replied without second thought.</p><p>“Sokka?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“Shut up and let me kiss you again, beautiful.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>alternate ending: "As if some sort of gravitational pull drew them together, their lips met yet again. It was gentle, slow, and passionate. They were content, so deeply entranced with one another that they barely heard the sound of geese squawking from just outside the house."</p><p>thanks for reading:)</p><p>my tumblr is <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/that-was-anticlimactic">that-was-anticlimactic</a> if anyone wants to talk zukka, ts, or hatred of geese:)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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